BIOS

Freak snowstorm hits Newfoundland over holiday weekend

A freak snowstorm hit Newfoundland and Labrador over the Victoria Day weekend, putting a freeze on long-weekend plans and blanketing residents under record-breaking snowfall.

Fifty four centimetres of snow fell in Gander over a 20-hour period from Saturday to Sunday, says Environment Canada, shattering the town’s previous record of 29 centimetres for the entire month of May, recorded in 1945.

As unbelievable as more than half a metre of spring snow sounds, an Environment Canada meteorologist suspects the total was actually higher.

Snowfall over the weekend could have actually been as high as 66 centimetres, including the snow that had already melted before the storm hit, meteorologist Wanda Rideout told the Canadian Press.

Temperatures dipped below the freezing point on Saturday evening and hovered around zero for most of Sunday, only to freeze again overnight.